Atomic Rowing qualifies at Southeast District Championships

Submitted

Local women’s varsity four headed to national rowing championship

Atomic Rowing had the home field advantage going into the 2013 USRowing Southeast Junior District Championships held May 4-5 on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge. Atomic Rowing entered 18 entries into the two-day rain-soaked event that attracted 339 boats and 43 teams from across six states.

“Despite the rain, the racing was high quality throughout the weekend,” said USRowing Events Manager A.J. Dominique. “The Oak Ridge organizing committee and referee corps from the Southeast stepped up to the challenge presented by the weather and delivered a championship-level racing experience.”

Ten crews advanced to the semifinals or finals for Atomic Rowing including: Men’s Varsity Single, Men’s Lightweight Varsity Double, Women’s 2nd Varsity Fours, Women’s Novice Eight, Men’s Novice Eight, Women’s 2nd Varsity Eight, Men’s 2nd Varsity Eight, but each just missed the medals podium. These crews helped Atomic Rowing to place 13th out of the 43 teams competing in overall points for the event. The Women’s crew placed 7th, and the Men’s crew placed 24th among the gender classifications.

The Women’s Varsity Four placed second and featured Coxswain Danielle Rosenzweig, a senior at Knoxville Catholic High School; Bow seat Nicole Barber, a senior at Oak Ridge High School; Two Seat Sarah Kate Rogers, a freshman at Oak Ridge High School; Three Seat Isla McRae, a sophomore at Knoxville Catholic; and the team captain Stoke Rae Oleshansky, a junior at Bearden High School. This placement qualified the crew to continue to train for five more weeks to prepare for the USRowing National Youth Championship Regatta to be held on Melton Hill Lake at Oak Ridge on June 7-9.

This is the first time Atomic Rowing has qualified for the national event since 2010. At that time, the Women’s Varsity Four team included Rae Oleshansky’s older sister, Bryna Oleshansky, now a junior rowing for the women’s rowing program at the University of Michigan. Atomic Rowing has qualified for a bid 14 times for National Championship since it started in 1996.

“We had a awesome weekend, for the whole program and the women’s four qualifying against tough competition this weekend attest the long hours and hard work these kids put in,” Atomic head coach Allen Eubanks said, “Our success as we head into the summer and next fall is based on if we recruit well. We offer summer rowing lessons to get kids started as early as the seventh grade. I understand that not many know how to row, but we are really good at teaching them. Besides looking for kids interested in rowing, the crew is in search of equipment sponsors to help with the increased growth of the sport. We are growing and getting faster, which is exciting for everyone involved.”

Coach Eubanks expressed appreciation toward Tennessee Valley Authority as well: “I want to honestly thank TVA for working with the event to control the river flow and allow for fair and safe racing conditions. It was a steady rain for a majority of the event, but the water was flat and after all we are involved in an outside sport.”

Atomic Rowing rows out of the Oak Ridge Boathouse located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. For more information, visit www.atomicrowing.com or call (865) 482-6538.